A FENCE OF 
TRUST . 



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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 



Chap......':. Copyfiglit No.. 

Shelf. 




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UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



A FENCE OF TRUST 



The Deeper Life Series* 

Handsomely printed and daintily bound. 
Illustrated. 

Price, 2S cents each, postpaid. 



WELL-BUILT. 



ANSWERED! 



Rev. Theodore L. Cuyler, D. D. 

Rev. J. Wilbur Chapman, D. D., 
Rev. R. A. Torrey, D. D., Rev. C. 
H. Yatman, Rev. Edgar E. David- 
son, and Thomas E. Murphy. 

THE INDWELLING GOD. 

Rev. Charles A. Dickinson, D. D. 

LITTLE SERMONS FOR ONE, 
Amos R. Wells. 

A FENCE OF TRUST. {Poems.) 
Mrs. Mary F. Butts. 



United Society of Christian Endeavor. 

Boston and Chicago. 




THE soul's awakening. 

FROM A PAINTING BY J. J. SAUT. 



A Fence of Trust 



Mary F. Butts 




United Society of Christian Endeavor 
Boston and Chicago 



13582 



Copyright, i8g8 
By United Society of Christian Endeavor 



^^ OF Cf 

S^^^ 1898 



^er of Covf 



Colonial Press : 
Electrotyped and 
C. H. Simofids &^ Co 
BostoJi, U.S.A. 



TWOCOPiEiiBLULiVtD. 




2nci COPY, 



CONTENTS. 



PAGE 

Build a Little Fence of Trust .... 7 

The Quiet Hour 7 

"Inasmuch" 8 

Stillness 9 

Longing 9 

What God Gives 10 

A Plant of Healing Bloomed for Me . . .10 

Much Thou Hast Given, Lord 11 

A Song for Easter 11 

"He Still Liveth" 12 

Two Seeds 13 

Wildwood Glimpses 13 

Communion 14 

Soft Unfolding 14 

"Brudder, de Grass Grows on Your Path" . 15 

Harvest 16 

What Shall I Write ? 16 

Tears 18 

Safe in the Dark 18 

God's Man 19 

Pity 20 

Mistakes 20 

Holy Ground 21 

Tides 22 

In Galilee 22 

V 



vi CONTEATS. 

PAGE 

Not Mine or Thine ..... o . 23 

The Christmas Gift ....... 23 

Going Home to Father's House . . . .24 

The Pilgrim's Song 25 

Two Prayers 26 

For Patience, Not for Wings 27 

How He Was Cured 28 

Lilacs . 30 

There Is an Inn 30 

A Prayer 31 

The Narrow Way 31 

Why? 32 

Onward 1^ 

Trailing Arbutus iZ 

My Joy Is Not in Me 34 

A Song of Thanks 35 

Think Not of the Past or Future . . -36 
O, Let the Soul Be Lightly Poised . . -36 

The Master's Voice 37 

Confidence 38 

Hope . . . * 38 

The Last Day 39 

Adaptation 39 

Seeketh Not Her Own 40 

The Kingdom of God 41 

Comfort 42 

The Seed 42 

Saturday Night 43 

Confession 44 

As on Some Day that Seemeth Long ... 44 

"Hush, My Dear" 45 

At Evening 45 



A FENCE OF TRUST. 



(guifb a feittfe Sence of txmt 

Build a little fence of trust 

Around to-day ; 
Fill the space with loving work, 

And therein stay. 

Look not through the sheltering bars 

Upon to-morrow. 
God will help thee bear what comes 

Of joy or sorrow. 



Sometime between the dawn and dark 

Go thou, O friend, apart, 
That a cool drop of heaven's dew 

May fall into thy heart. 

Thus with a spirit soothed and cured 

Of restlessness and pain 
Thou mayst, nerved with force divine, 

Take up thy work again. 



A FENCE OF TRUST. 



We cannot see thy face, Lord ; 

We cannot touch thy hand ; 
The mystery of thy being 

We do not understand ; 
Yet beside us daily 

Needy ones there be ; 
In succoring the helpless 

We are helping thee. 

Thou art Prince of princes ; 

Thou art Lord of all ; 
Angels haste through heaven 

Obedient to thy call. 
With thy sighing children 

Must our errands be ; 
In serving the neglected 

We are serving thee. 

Languishing in prison, 

Famishing for bread, 
Sicknesses enduring, 

Mourning for the dead. 
Of the world forsaken, 

Thy brethren we see ; 
In keeping watch with sorrow 

We minister to thee. 



A FENCE OF TRUST. 



Stiffness, 

Be still, my soul, 
And like an innocent child smile in God's face 
So shalt thou fully comprehend his grace 

In owning his control. 

'Tis not his hand 
That hurts when thou art moved to cries 

and tears, — 
The agony is made from thine own fears, — 

Thou dost not understand. 

He leads thee where 
The danger cannot come. Lean on his arm ; 
There is no need of all this wild alarm, 

No need of pain or care. 

My soul, be still. 
And trust for once thy Father's tender breast ; 
See then how sweet will be thy perfect rest, 

How calm thy stormy will. 



feonging. 

More life, and more, and ever more 
Give thou, O Life, to me. 

As, emptied of my vain desire, 
I give myself to thee. 



A FENCE OF TRUST. 

I^^ai (Bob (BiDes. 

What God gives thou must accept, 

Parting or reunion ; 
Sorrow taken at his hand 

Is the true communion. 

Ah, how deadly is the sin, 

When we weakly doubt him ! 
Who will not grieve with Christ the Lord 

Perforce must grieve without him. 

When he sets a soul apart, I 

He gives it wondrous hearing ; I 

Open to him all thy heart ; ' 

Listen, never fearing. i 

Some sweet word will come to thee, ; 

Through the midnight winging ; ' ■ 

Turning tear-drops into smiles, | 

Turning grief to singing. ! 

(^ ^fant of Igeafing (J$foomeb for (gte. 1 

A PLANT of healing bloomed for me, i 

Sprung sudden from a root divine ; \ 

My life was full of blessedness | 
While the sweet flower was mine. 

At last in an unguarded hour j 

To hate and envy I gave room ; \ 

Then from my heart a scorching breath J 

Destroyed the beauteous bloom. 1 



A FENCE OF TRUST. 

Much thou hast given, Lord ; 

The circling seasons through, 
Each day brought from thy hand 

Some blessing new. 

But, looking back, 't is plain 

Thy richest gifts to me 
Were pain and loss that taught 

My need of thee. 

(^ ^ong for (Basitt. 

O SAD earth, break into bloom, 

For now the Lord hath arisen ; 
Love cannot be held by death, 

He hath broken asunder the prison. 
Wreathe lilies of stainless white 

In honor of his resurrection ; 
Now is the victory won, 

Now is the grave in subjection. 

Break into praise, my soul. 

And forget not the wonderful story ; 
Love hath power in heaven and earth ; 

To Christ be honor and glory. 
He reigneth, the innocent One, 

Who once was bruised and broken. 
O weary and desolate heart. 

Take courage, be glad by this token. 



A FENCE OF TRUST. 



Along a city street 

Walked two men side by side, 
Amid the shifting scenes 

At merry Christmas-tide. 
And one said, " Far away 

Is the Christ we celebrate ; 
An evil fate is ours 

That we were born so late." 

A little sweeper stood 

Upon the pavement cold ; 
Her eyes were red with tears, 

Her features wan and old. 
Then he that mourned for Christ 

To outstretched hands said nay ; 
The other gave her gold. 

And blessed her on the way. 

No age can claim the Lord, 

Neither can any race ; 
Let no one dare to say 

He is not in this place. 
Where men give love and help 

To sorrow at their side, 
In any clime or time, 

There doth the Christ abide. 



A FENCE OF TRUST. 

Two seeds — one, joy, one, sorrow, called 
Were sown the selfsame hour. 

From joy came up a thorny stalk 
That bore a poison flower. 

But the lone place where sorrow lay 

Grew sweet in every part ; 
Thence issued many a healing leaf 

To cure a broken heart. 

WiLDWOOD glimpses, O how sweet ! 
Where the woods and waters meet, 
Where shy blossoms in a dream 
Watch their image in a stream. 
And the breeze, a lover bold. 
Whispers secrets manifold. 
Wildwood glimpses, O how sweet, 
Where the woods and waters meet ! 

Wildwood glimpses, O how dear ! 
Little lovers hovering near, 
Chirping babies in a nest, 
Insects on a happy quest, 
Lovely mysteries of shade 
By the sun-kissed branches made, — 
Wildwood glimpses, O how sweet. 
Where the woods and waters meet ! 



A FENCE OF TRUST. 



Communion. 

A CHILD sat alone in a wood, 

And O, so still was he 

That a little bird came to his feet, 

And warbled a carol sweet, 

And stayed with him under the tree. 

A heart was alone in the world, 
And O, when the heart grew still. 
Forced all its longings to cease, 
Then the holy Dove of Peace 
Came and rested at will. 



^oft gjnfof^ins. 

Soft unfolding in the sun, 
Tender petals one by one, — 
Lovely secrets slow unsealed 
Till the inmost heart 's revealed, — 
Soft unfolding in the sun, 
Tender petals one by one. 

Thus they fill the garden place. 
Full of fragrance, full of grace, — 
Roses white as thoughts of heaven, 
Roses red as summer even, — 
Soft unfolding in the sun. 
Tender petals one by one. 



14 



A FENCE OF TRUST. 

Dear love, let the Sun divine 
On thy folded selfhood shine ; 
In thy little garden room 
Open thus in fragrant bloom, 
Soft unfolding in the sun. 
Love's sweet graces one by one. 



"QStubber, ^e (Brass (Brozos on ^out 

The heart is weary, and cannot rest ; 
Work no longer has aim or zest ; 
Dim is the gold of the promised prize ; 
Hope is hidden from tearful eyes ; 
The joyous faith in things unseen 
Is clouded by doubts that intervene ; 
Fear over love the victory hath — 
" Brudder, de grass grows on your path." 

The faults of your neighbor you quickly see, 
Nor hide them with tender charity ; 
You are tossed like a dry leaf to and fro 
As the fitful winds of doctrine blow ; 
Bent with the burden of worldly care, 
Meshed in many a subtle snare. 
Slow to forgive, and prone to wrath — 
" Brudder, de grass grows on your path." 



^ A little company of converted Africans had made paths by often seek- 
ing their rural prayer-trysts. Whenever a path began to be grass-grown 
the neglectful one was warned. 



A FENCE OF TRUST. 

Nature has ripened her fruit and grain ; 

But what, O soul, are the sheaves you bring ? 
While the rich earth offers her golden gifts, 

What is the gain of your harvesting ? 

Have you garnered patience from day to day ? 

Have you gathered the precious fruit of love ? 
Has charity grown by the dew of tears 

And the sunshine streaming from above ? 

In the sheathing husk of the outward life 

Have you found the kernel God yearns to give ? 

Have you gained with the body's nourishment 
The " word " by which a man doth " live " ? 

" What shall I write ? " and the preacher 

Was dull and weary and sad. 
How could he make the people 

Eager and strong and glad ? 
How could life's sparkling water 

Flow when the stream was dry ? 
He had lost the way to the fountain 

That gushed from the mountain high. 

*' I will write no more," said the preacher. 

And forth he went to the street. 
" I am not fit for a teacher, 

For the hungry I have no meat. 



i6 



A FENCE OF TRUST. 

God does not own my service, 

Men heed not what I say ; 
My words fall idle and powerless, 

The heavens are brass when I pray." 

He passed, in his trouble, a furnace, 

Where men toiled long in the heat. 
Naught could they know of the summer, 

Smiling and songful and sweet ; 
Naught of the forest's secrets, 

Or the ripple of running brooks. 
Of rest beneath shadowy branches. 

With poems and pictures and books. 

A pang, like a sharp blade, of pity 

Cut deep to the core of his heart. 
" O God, these are also thy children ; 

Of thy playtimes where is their part .'* " 
From a tired hand he wrested a hammer. 

"It is time, my brother, for rest. 
I will work in your stead at the furnace ; 

Go out in God's world, and be blest." 

And there with the grimy toilers 

He smote with an even pace ; 
And his heart was eased and rested 

As the sweat stood on his face. 
With the needy he met the Master ; 

By his touch was wakened, thrilled. 
Thence life flowed into his spirit ; 

Lo ! the empty was filled. 



17 



A FENCE OF TRUST. 



treats. 

Is it rainy, little flower? 

Be glad of rain. 
The sun that veils itself from thee 

Will shine again. 
The clouds are very black, 't is true ; 
But just behind them smiles the blue. 

Art thou weary, tender heart } 

Be glad of pain. 
In sorrow sweetest things will grow 

As flowers in rain. 
God watches, and thou wilt have sun 
When clouds their perfect work have done. 



^afe in t^e ©atft. 

Life's daily work, its little cares, 
Its slow, monotonous hours, 

Are like the coarse, protecting sheath 
That hides the heart of flowers. 

Safe in the dark the soul unfolds 

Within its narrow room, 
While radiant spaces lit by love 

Await the perfect bloom. 



i8 



A FENCE OF TRUST. 



(Bod's (gtan. 

All in the sunshine hammered he, all in the wind and 



ram. 



From breaking of the morning light till day had 

dawned again. 
The red blood flushed his swarthy cheek; his eye was 

bright and clear ; 
No coward look was on his face, and in his heart no 

fear. 

All in the sunshine hammered he, and knew himself 

God's man, 
Bid to the firm foundation work, the bottom of the plan. 
The lofty nave, the tower, the spire, can never stand 

alone ; 
"But for my work the world would stop," said the man 

who broke the stone. 

And God, he sends his workers forth with plainly spoken 

call, 
And some must clear away the clods, and some must 

build the wall. 
And some must carve the statue's lines high in the 

blazing light ; 
And each will get fair wages when his work is done at 

night. 



19 



A FENCE OF TRUST. 



" God pity us ! " in pleading tones we say, 
Remembering our sins day after day. 

" So easy 'tis to fall ! So rough the path ! 

At the great day of reckoning spare thy wrath ! 

" Life is our school. Dear Master, tenderly 
The imperfection of our lessons see ; 

" And, while our failures we with anguish rue, 
Set to our credit what we meant to do." 

Thus do we speak, then, rising from our knees, 
Some luckless debtor in sharp anger seize ; 

And, careless of the love to which we pray, 
Extort from poverty the utmost pay. 

Ah ! at compassion's fount he vainly sighs 
Who pity to his fellow man denies. 



QJti0ta8e0. 

A MISTAKE should not hold you in thrall. 
Waste your heart with grieving, regretting 

'T is childish to fall, but heroic 
To rise and go on forgetting. 



20 



A FENCE OF TRUST. 

Do you love your darling the less 

For a hurt in learning to walk ? 
You hold him close to your breast, 

And soothe him with sweet baby-talk. 

Put out your hands towards God ; 

Believe him there, if unseen ; 
Press on, though uncertain, there 's less 

Than the breadth of the room between. 

A type is your fatherly heart, 

Forgiving, hoping, sustaining, 
Of the God-heart that throbs through the dark, 

Where you lie weeping, complaining. 



©ofj? (Btounb. 

Surely this is holy ground, 

This a holy day, 
Set thick with troublous tasks that yet 

May not be put away. 

For, at call of the tired heart, 

A tender voice replied, 
" Lo ! alway I, the strengthening One, 

Am watching at thy side." 

O, blessed is the weariest lot 

That he doth help to bear. 
And blest the soul that learns his love 

Through longing and through prayer. 



A FENCE OF TRUST. 



Art thou at low tide, O soul ? 
Of life thy God hath control, 

Of the heart as well as the sea. 
When the tide is lowest, it turns j 

Remember he holdeth thee. 

Art thou at high tide, O soul ? 

Dost think thou art free from control ? 

In thy heart is haughtiness found? 
When the tide is highest, it turns ; 

Thou canst never exceed his bound. 



3n (Bafifee. 

Roman and Jew upon one level lie ; 

Great Herod's palaces are ground to dust ; 

Upon the synagogues are mould and rust ; 

Night winds among the tottering columns sigh ; 

Yet sparrows through the massive ruins fly, 

And o'er the sacred earth's embroidered crust 

Still goes the sower forth to sow, still must 

The shepherd with his sheep sit listlessly. 

There towers the mountain where the Teacher spake 

In those old times the sweet Beatitudes, 

Surviving kings and codes, fair words and feuds. 

There creeps the Jordan to its destined lake, 

The fisher casts his net into the sea, 

And still the lilies bloom in Galilee. 



A FENCE OF TRUST. 



(not (gtine, or t^inc. 

Not mine, or thine, but His, 
To whom all things belong, — 

Kept for the outstretched hand 
That 's neediest in the throng. 



The gift held close corrupts ; 

But channels open, free. 
Are ever newly filled 

By Heaven's charity. 

$^e Christmas (Bift 

I HAVE no priceless jewels, 

I have no fertile fields, 
No year that passes o'er me 

A golden harvest yields. 
All in the wild December 

I sit me down and say, 
" What gift of my possessions 

Is meet for Christmas Day?" 

O, then my heart makes answer, — 

" Dost hear grief's pleading call ? 
The gift of gold and jewels 

Is poorest gift of all. 
The wounded and the weary 

Wait all along thy way ; 
To give himself to sorrow 

Christ came on Christmas Day." 



A FENCE OF TRUST. 



(Being gome to S^t^^t*B Spouse, 

Pack the little coats and gowns, 

And make the house-place neat ; 
Put some cakes for travelling 

Beneath the wagon-seat ; 
Give an extra mess of oats 

To good old Jim and Gray : 
We 're going home to father's house 

For Thanksgiving Day. 

So oft we 've lived the journey o'er, 

With the welcome at the end. 
Sweet mother's kisses on our cheek, 

And the hand-clasp of each friend. 
And many a time the little ones 

Have travelled in their play, 
All the way to grandpa's house 

For Thanksgiving Day. 

The dear home-fields have yielded up 

Their grasses and their grain ; 
The bins and barns are running o'er, 

From orchard and from plain ; 
And with the rich year's discipline, 

Its hours of work and play, 
Some fairer things are harvested 

For Thanksgiving Day. 

Our arms so full of blessedness 
The years have helped us win 



24 



A FENCE OF TRUST. 

Have opened wide enough to let 

A little stranger in. 
For the first time two little feet 

From angel-land astray 
Will toddle into grandpa's house 

For Thanksgiving Day. 

We know the place is all astir 

With plans for goodly fare, 
And mother's look and mother's voice 

Are present everywhere ; 
And to a neighbor dropping in, 

She pauses just to say, 
" The children are all coming home 

For Thanksgiving Day." 



It rang on the morning air. 

The pilgrim's song ; 
Straight was the way he went, 

Narrow and long. 

Many a path diverged ; 

Roads crossed his track. 
" Pilgrim, thou goest wrong ! 

Turn back, turn back ! " 

Ever that pilgrim's song 

Haunts me through night and day 
" Who doeth the will of God, 

Knoweth the way." 



25 



A FENCE OF TRUST. 



A SAINTLY lady knelt down to pray 

For herself and not for her brothers ; 
To thank her God she was just and true, 

And better than many others. 
" Father," she said, " look down on thy church, 

And help us to be winners ; 
Bless the righteous in basket and store. 

And give their due to the sinners. 
Over their heads who follow not us 

The gales of thy wrath are blowing; 
Down a steep grade to the bottomless pit 

We feel they are surely going." 



The saintly lady knelt down to pray, 

But her eyes were dim with weeping ; 
Over her features, once cold and bright, 

Sombre shadows were creeping. 
" Father," she said, " my son, my son ! " 

And her voice was low and broken ; 
Her bosom heaved like the tide in storms 

With its weight of woe unspoken. 
" Have mercy upon him ! He is so young ! 

He knows not in error's beginning 
The slippery paths his feet must tread. 

The terrible end of sinning ! " 



26 



A FENCE OF TRUST. 



Sot* ^atknu, not for ^in^B* 

O, WOULD that I had wings! 

Fair and serene 
Those far-away blue hills, 

And the soft vale between. 

Low branches trail the ground; 

Bright waters meet ; 
Wild rose and pink sweetbrier 

Make all the pastures sweet. 

Here every common day 

Hath common cares; 
Dull are the songs I sing, 

And broken are my prayers. 

Hadst thou the wished-for wings, 

That land to gain. 
Still wouldst thou find thy care, 

And many a grief and pain. 

The distance doth deceive; 

But cleave the-space. 
And the old common life 

Would meet thee face to face. 

For patience, not for wings, 

Should be thy prayer ; 
For life's cup holdeth drops 

Of bitter everywhere. 



27 



A FENCE OF TRUST. 



" That night I come home sober, — 't was a rare thing, 

you must know. 
As I stumbled through the kitchen, — 'twas about two 

years ago, — 
The bedroom door was open, an' I could n't help but see 
My little chap a-prayin' at his mother's knee. 

" I drew back in the shadder, — they both looked sorter 

beat, — 
I knew they did n't ever have more 'n half enough to eat. 
He clasped two little scrawny hands, desp'rit white and 

slim, 
As if to show 'em up in heaven how I treated him. 

" The purty yeller hair that I called his golden crown. 
Over an old, patched nightgown floated softly down. 
An' there, side of his ragged frock, lay a little shoe ; 
An', because / was his father, that was ragged, too. 

" As I stood there, a-listenin', this is what I heard him 

say: 
' Bless dear papa, an' bring him home to us, I pray. 
Tell him how we want him, an' how we love him' ; then, 
' Make poor mamma stop cryin', for Jesus' sake. Amen.' 

" ' Amen ! ' She said it, too ; how she could, I cannot tell. 
I promised square to cherish her, then made her home a 
hell ; 

28 



A FENCE OF TRUST. 

I had n't said a loving word to her for many a day ; 
I swore at her that mornin', before I went away. 

" ' Amen! ' She kissed the boy, an' tucked him into bed, 
Then laid her face on the piller, close to his cmly head ; 
I heard a sob, an' some stifled words — I tell you I got a 

scare ; 
I seemed to see the bottomless pit yawn for me right 

there ! 

" I slunk out o' the house, an' into the garden-patch. 
With God on their side, them helpless ones was a good 

deal more 'n my match ; 
An' there, under the watchin' stars, I dropped on my 

knee. 
An' begged the merciful Lord to have mercy on me. 

"There's somethin' up above us that pulls when we 

hitch on; 
It drawed me out o' the mud an' mire, when I was nigh 

clean gone ; 
An' I tell ye what 't is, fellers, if I've turned out middHn' 

fair, 
'Tis all along o' that boy o' mine namin' me in his 

prayer." 



29 



A FENCE OF TRUST. 



£ifac0. 

Into my window the lilac boughs 

Peep again as of old. 
" We have borne the storms of winter," they say, 

" The cloud, the rain, and the cold. 

" Yet once again we are clothed in green. 

With purple clusters are set; 
Though long the night and bitter the day, 

The Maker did not forget." 



€^txc 30 an 3nn. 

There is an inn to which the Lord would come. 
The baby Christ, sweet, holy innocence, 
Would there a new and lovely life commence. 
From heavenly types would make an earthly home. 
Alas ! the inmates say, " There is no room. 
We cannot with our wonted guests dispense, — 
The weary company must journey hence." 
Ah, full and careless heart ! in days of gloom 
What wouldst thou not for the great glory pay. 
That now without a thought thou turnest away.? 
All purest joy, all blessedness long sought. 
All riches the young Child to thee had brought. 
With keenest vision watch ; thou still mayst win 
The heavenly guest, O keeper of the inn ! 



30 



A FENCE OF TRUST. 



Thou who seest the tender shoot 
From the plant that seemeth dead, 

Thou who nourishest the root 
Pining and uncomforted, 

Brightening every dreary place 

With the shining of thy face, — 

O, forbid that we should doubt 
Spirits that seem dead in sin, 

Shutting the sweet sunshine out 

From the hearts that love might win. 

False to love, we cannot be 

Followers, dear Lord, of thee. 



Just here where threads this narrow way 
Our feet must toil from morn till night ; 

Not yonder where a royal road 

Winds up along the sun-crowned height. 

Yet they who tread that dazzling path. 
Of its strange splendor half-afraid. 

Through wistful eyes may gaze at us 
With longing for the peaceful shade. 



A FENCE OF TRUST. 



" Tell me, O cruel Hand," 
Said a Grain of Corn one day, 

" Why from the golden Sunshine 
You bury me away? " 

The silence was relentless ; 

No helper came to save ; 
But full ears in the harvest 

A perfect answer gave. 

" Tell me, O cruel Knife," 
Said a Rose-tree overgrown, 

" Why all my wealth is stripped, 
And I am left alone ? " 

The question was unheeded — 
" In vain a Rose-tree grows." 

Ah, doubter, leaves are little worth, 
When you have seen a rose. 

" Tell me, O cruel Fate," 
Said a baffled, tempted soul, 

" What is the good of life ? 
Where is the promised goal ? " 

" The loving Force evolving 
Sweet roses and ripe corn, 

Goes surely to its purpose, 
O faithless and forlorn." 



32 



A FENCE OF TRUST. 

Forget them, the sorrows and wrongs of the past. 
Only the joy and the beauty should last, 
Only the blossoms wholesome and gay. 
Toss the sharp thistles out of the way. 
Onward, our orders ; and onward we go, 
O'erleaping all hmdrance of friend or of foe. 

Our life-work is waiting, no moment to spare ; 

No crowns for the cowards who doubt and despair. 

Onward, still onward ; hide the deep wound ; 

Courage ! in duty the cure will be found. 

Up hearts ! believing, as forward we fare. 

That fate will not offer what man cannot bear. 

ZtaitirxQ (^x^txim. 

See, who has come at beckoning of the sun 

To make a garland for our April meet. 

A dry leaf is her mask, for all too sweet 

The tender beauty of this little one 

For savage winds that through the forest run. 

Of her meek advent came no herald fleet 

The dreaming giants of the wood to greet. 

What business of the flowers was ever done 

Save in soft silence, their true natures bent 

To steadiest obedience ? And so 

Unto perfection all their graces grow. 

Thus with our darling Mayflower, quite content 

To smile upon the world a little space, 

And brighten with her bloom a shadowy place. 



33 



A FENCE OF TRUST. 



(&^t 301^ 3s not in Ote. 

An April violet 

Awoke in sweet surprise, 
Won into happy life 

By soft, dew-dropping skies. 
And, thrilled with love, it said, 
Lifting its gentle head, 
" My joy is not in me, 
It comes, O sun, from thee." 

A rosebud, in mid-June, 
Opened its fragrant heart, 

A-wondering at itself, 

As its pink leaves fell apart. 

Then, looking to the sun, 

It said, this lovely one, 

" My joy is not in me. 

It Cometh down from thee." 

Thus, like the violet, 

And like the rose, my heart; 
Beneath the Sun divine 

Its petals fall apart. 
Warmed by the streaming rays 
To life and love, it says, 
<' My joy is not in me. 
It comes, O God, from thee." 



34 



A FENCE OF TRUST. 



(^ ^ong of t^an^B. 

We thank thee for life's common things, 
The limpid, lovely water springs, 
The shining diamonds of dew. 
The firmament's transcendent blue ; 
For the wild rose whose fragile cup 
In field and hedge is lifted up ; 

For the shy tribes in glade and glen 
Whose sweet life is unseen of men ; 
For humble grasses making meet 
The rough earth for thy children's feet ; 
For lowly moss that creeps and clings, 
A drapery for unsightly things. 

For love's sweet looks upon us bent ; 
For baby faces innocent ; 
For helpless hands, that reach and sue, 
And make us patient, kind, and true ; 
For youthful hearts unworn and bold. 
That keep our own from growing old. 

We thank thee for life's homely ways, 
The discipline of working days; 
For hearts made tenderer by trial ; 
For the stern teaching of denial ; 
For pain that keys the quivering chord ; 
For joy and grief, we thank thee, Lord. 



35 



A FENCE OF TRUST. 



t^in^ not of t^e ^a^i or Suture. 

Think not of the past or future ; 

The present is all thou hast ; 
Future will soon be present ; 

Present will soon be past. 

Regret can never avail thee ; 

Longing will only waste ; 
Cheerful work in the present 

Will bring thy wishes with haste. 

This is life's only secret : 
Love and work and believe ; 

The worker soon ceases regretting ; 
The loving soon cease to grieve. 



d, £et m ^ouf (§t S^iQ^t (JJoiseb. 

O, LET the soul be lightly poised, 
That it may take swift flight 

When God's voice rouses it from rest, 
And bids it leave delight. 

And let not Sorrow spoil the heart ; 

She has no right to stay ; 
For, when she comes to sup with thee, 

Joy is not far away. 



36 



A FENCE OF TRUST. 

t^c (^taster's O)oice. 

One is your Master, even Christ, and all ye are brethren." 

Ah ! what says the Master, 

Watching at our side, 
Of the selfish servants. 

Careless in their pride. 
Each his own will seeking 

In the daily race, 
Treading down the weakest 

For a brother's place ? 

Hearest thou the Master, — 

O, so sad and sweet ! — 
When his striving servants 

Seek the highest seat ? 
In reproachful accents 

Uttering the behest, 
" He who would be greatest, 

Let him serve the rest." 

Seekest thou the Master? 

Know ye not he stands 
Where the weary captive 

Lifts his fettered hands, 
By the fainting toiler ? 

Thus he speaks to thee : 
" Who finds his needy brother 

Surely findeth me." 



37 



A FENCE OF TRUST. 



Confidence. 

We are not left of God 
While one fair flower blooms at our window-pane, 
While springing grass responds to April rain, 
And violet bands break through the sun-thrilled sod. 
If but a wild brier by our pathway nod, 
From seeming death, awake and glad again, 
In the sweet sight we may forget our pain 
Of unbelief, — who brings forth life but God ? 
He stains with tender tint the lily's lip ; 
Feeds with incessant care the insect crew ; 
Drops honey for the wandering bee to sip. 
In a white chalice set with pearls of dew ; 
The glow-worm hath his lamp ; the firefly's light 
Is but a pledge of love writ on the night. 



Dear little crocus, 
If you can bloom so 

Out of the darkness. 
Out of the snow, 

May we not hope. 
In the winter of pain, 

That all our dead loves 
Will blossom again ? 



38 



A FENCE OF TRUST. 



t^c feast ®ai?. 

Were this the last of earth,— 

This very day, — 
My life's work finished quite 

And put away ; 
And I from comrades dear 

About to part, 
How gentle were my thoughts ! 

How kind my heart ! 

And yet this fleeting life 

Is one last day ; 
How long soe'er its hours, 

They will not stay. 
O heart, be soft and true 

While thou dost beat ! 
O hands, be swift to do ; 

O lips, be sweet ! 



A SKY for wings, and wings for the sky, - 
Soaring songs in the summer morn. 

Homeward flights in the purple even, — 
And so I think, since souls were born, 

God must have made for souls a heaven. 



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A FENCE OF TRUST. 



^eeSef^ not get di^n. 

How shall we test our love, — 
How shall the real be known 

F^rom its base counterpart? 
Love seeketh not her own. 

Tender and pure and sweet, 
The heart her only throne ; 

Content in silent ways, 

Love seeketh not her own. 

Hoping when others fear, 

Forgotten and alone, 
Enduring to the end, 

Love seeketh not her own. 

Thus shall we test our love. 
Thus shall the real be known ; 

For throughout heaven and earth 
Love seeketh not her own. 



40 



A FENCE OF TRUST. 



t^e OKinejbom of (Bob, 

A ROSE-TREE in a cellar prayed and prayed : 

" O, give me buds and bloom ! 
O, bring the beauteous summer of my dreams 

To this chill darkened room." 

" The garden thou must seek," a voice replied. 

" There brooding heats are thine, 
There dews soft-falling soothe thy thirst, and give 

To thee a joy divine. 

" While thou art far from thine appointed home 

Both leaf and flower will fail ; 
Thy law is light, — for roses in the dark 

No praying will avail. 

" Behold the gardener ! Give thyself to him. 

Thy trouble he doth see. 
Into the glory of thy growing place 

He longs to welcome thee. 

" God's loving forces work forevermore ; 

They are forever free. 
Seek life's sweet kingdom, then shall all the rest 

Be added unto thee." 



41 



A FENCE OF TRUST. 

Comforf. 

Is the space bleak about thee ? 

Friend and lover far ? 
Do clouds in misty foldings 

Hide the guiding star? 

Doubt not that love is near thee, 
Nor heed thy heart's alarms ; 

Thou hast for thy upholding 
The everlasting arms. 

The farmer planted a seed, 

A little, dry, black seed ; 
And off he went to other work ; 
For the farmer was never known to shirk. 

And cared for what had need. 

The night came, with its dew, 

The cool and silent dew ; 
The dawn came, and the day. 
And the farmer worked away 

At labors not a few. 

Home from his work one day. 

One glowing summer day. 
His children showed him a perfect flower; 
It had burst in bloom that very hour. 

How, I cannot say. 

42 



A FENCE OF TRUST. 

But I know if the smallest seed 

In the soil of love be cast, 
Both day and night will do their part ; 
And the sower who works with a trusting 
heart 

Will find the flower at last. 



Fold thy hands, tired world, the Sabbath comes 

Thy God remembers thee. 
Thy weariness, thy weakness, and thy woe ; 

For one day sets thee free. 

For one day breaks the bond by labor sealed ; 

Strikes off the chains of greed; 
Calls to his holy presence rich and poor, 

Equal in human need. 

Gives to the child its father; at the hearth 

Renews the arid soul 
With breaths of sweet affections ; wins the heart 

From the week's harsh control. 

As mists from mountain waters shower the plain 

Till blossoms star the sod. 
The Sabbath brings to thee, O panting world. 

Dew from the heights of God. 



43 



A FENCE OF TRUST. 

Confegsion. 

Not when I feel my neighbor's fault 
Does help come from above ; 

Not when I mourn his littleness, 
His lack of generous love ; 

But something great and sweet and kind 
Seems near to help and bless, 

When I confess with penitence 
My own unworthiness. 

(^g on ^ome ©ai^ <t^at ^eemet^ £ong. 

As on some day that seemeth long 

Night comes with blessed sense 
Of finished work, of quieted care, 

Of dreamy indolence ; 
When darkness like a curtain's fold 

Shuts us in peace away, 
And with a thought of heaven we fall 

Asleep till dawn of day ; 

So that still night that we call death 

Will fold us sweetly in 
From the long years of weariness, 

Of sorrow, and of sin ; 
Will hold us in a blessed sleep 

No earthly woe can wake, 
Till the new dawn shall touch our lids. 

And bid the silence break. 



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A FENCE OF TRUST. 

"Su6^, (St^ ©eatf." 

Hush, my dear, thy useless grieving; 

Rest thee in God's will. 
As a babe within thy cradle, 

" Hush, my dear, lie still." 
Sweet, how sweet ! was then thy slumber ; 

Love is just as near. 
God's arms are thy peaceful cradle ; 

Hush thy grief, my dear. 

As a babe beside its mother 

Soon is comforted, 
Thou, God's child, forget thy sorrow ; 

" Angels guard thy bed." 
Trust, as when thy mother rocked thee, 

In the Father's will. 
Thou art in love's peaceful cradle ; 

" Hush, my dear, lie still." 

The day's work that I meant to do 

Is not half done, — 
The victory over selfish ease 

Has not been won. 

" To-morrow," say I to my soul. 

To ease its sorrow. 
Ah, yes ! but sometime there will come 

The last to-morrow. 



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